


Listen as He Leaves

by Sorryimnotthatkindofdoctor



Category: Supernatural
Genre: "Let the Good Times Roll" coda, Angst, Episode: s13e23 Let the Good Times Roll, S13 finale, not a fix-it fic, there is not happiness here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 22:15:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14724578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorryimnotthatkindofdoctor/pseuds/Sorryimnotthatkindofdoctor
Summary: A focus on Castiel during the final battle of the S13 finale & Michael's betrayal.





	Listen as He Leaves

“He’s got Sam. And he’s got Jack. I don’t have a choice.”

Dean’s words ring out in his head as he watches the hunter & Michael make their deal. Cas can’t help but feel like some strange voyeur. He knows that Dean knows he’s there, but the hunter won’t look at him. It’s not like he’s pretending he doesn’t exist. It’s just Dean won’t look at him.

It’s on his lips to speak, to tell him to stop. To volunteer in Dean’s place even though he knows that if this is to work, it has to be Dean that says YES to Michael. He wants to say something, damnit. To threaten his brother - step-brother? Cas almost gets lost in trying to figure out if this Michael has any relation to him, but then the archangel is standing up, blood running from his eyes & ears & nose.

“Dean,” he finally says, but it’s too late. The room blazes white & the next thing Cas knows, there’s just one of them there. Dean turns & Cas can see the wings. Can see Michael’s face lurking behind the hunter’s.

“Dean…” 

“Still me, Cas,” Dean says, but Cas can see it in the way he turns. His body is heavier with the weight of all that power, even if it has wings. Dean is on his guard, working to make sure Michael doesn’t do something to take over.

“Dean, please…” Cas almost asks to go along. He can’t go himself - no wings. He’d need a ride. He can’t fight Lucifer for Dean, but he wants to. Wants to help. Wants so desperately not to be useless - to be that same warrior that first pulled Dean out of Hell so many years ago.

“I’ll be back.” And then Dean is gone.

Cas stands perfectly still as he listens. There’s not a lot of chatter to tune out, what with Heaven dying, but there’s some. The angels have cued in on the fact that there’s another archangel force on Earth suddenly. But Cas couldn’t care less about any of them - not even about Heaven, really. 

Every sense he has is focused on Dean.

His eyes go blank & far away as he listens - he can almost see it. The fight. The ferocity. Dean is losing. He feels it when Lucifer’s hand comes down on Dean’s forehead, feels the white-hot fire of an archangel’s Grace working to burn Dean out.

The shock of Lucifer dying is enough to make him collapse, fall on his ass to the stairs behind him. It ripples across the Earth, through Heaven & even down into Hell. Cas gasps as if he were the one fighting.

They’d done it. 

Lucifer is dead. Dean, Jack, Sam… they’re alive. He can feel their joy. They’re relief. And for just a moment, he allows himself to feel it, too.

Until…

“NO!” Cas cries out, trying to stand, but he can’t. He can hear Dean fighting, cursing the archangel inside him. Can hear him begging & pleading in his mind, a prayer. Cas freezes as he hears it, a soft, almost whimper of a sound in Dean’s mind.

Castiel, please!

And then Dean is silent. And all Cas knows is Michael’s voice in his head before the archangel flies off & cuts himself off from angel radio.

He shakes. Everywhere - every part of him shakes. He can’t stand, can’t move. 

“Dean…” Cas speaks it aloud, as if saying the hunter’s name will bring him back. He sits there, hands wringing, tears blurring his vessel’s perfect vision.

And he’s still sitting there when Mary & Bobby come back in, looking around, wanting answers.

Cas has none to give.

All he has to give anymore are his tears.

END


End file.
